This week in our time capsule news round-up we have a mystery capsule in Michigan that will finally get a public unveiling, some confused time capsule hunters in Australia who really have their work cut out for them, and a Pittsburgh company that wants to put a time capsule on the moon—complete with a Japanese sports drink.
Private space travel company wants to put a time capsule on the moon
If all goes according to plan, a time capsule filled with the popular Japanese sports drink Pocari Sweat is heading to the moon. Yep, you read that right.
Pittsburgh-based Astrobotic Technology hopes to win Google's Lunar X-Prize by being the first private company to put a robotic rover on the moon. And the company has already contracted with a Singapore-based sports drink manufacturer to deliver a time capsule of Pocari Sweat (described as a drinkable IV-like solution) to the lunar surface.
"I anticipate that this will be the first of many payloads that we will sign in the next few months," Astrobotic Tech CEO John Thornton told the Pittsburgh Business Times.
The company hopes to launch its rover by October of 2015, but obviously a lot of work has to be completed between now and then. I reached out to Astrobotic Technology yesterday to learn more about this proposed time capsule but have yet to hear back from them. [Pittsburgh Business Times]
Floppy-filled time capsule from 1994 makes a pit stop in 2014
A school in the UK cracked open a time capsule from 1994 this week, revealing a cache of mid-90s pop culture, floppy disks, letters, and kids' drawings. But time capsule nerds shouldn't get all up in arms about its short duration. The school says they're going to reseal the thing for future generations. There's no scheduled date for when it will be opened again, but hopefully they keep it closed for at least another 20 years. [Mustard]
Australian capsule hunters looking for 1979 treasure. Or maybe it's 1992.
A time capsule in a Queensland, Australia suburb has gone missing. At least they think it has. Not only can the former students of Tallegalla State School not agree on where the time capsule may have been buried, they can't even agree on what decade it may have been. Some believe it was 1979. Others think it was maybe 1992. To complicate matters, most believe that whenever it was buried, the thing was made of PVC pipe—pretty hard to find with tools like a metal detector. [Sunshine Coast Daily]
NC elementary school seals time capsule with photos of kids using iPads
This week students at Alderman Elementary in Wilmington, North Carolina sealed a time capsule to celebrate the school's 50th anniversary. The capsule doesn't include any gadgets from the year 2014, but people of the future will get... photos of students using gadgets. [WWAY]
Mental health capsule in Wisconsin reveals artifacts from 1966
A 1966 time capsule pulled from a recently demolished mental health center in Green Bay, Wisconsin was opened publicly this week. Inside they found old photos of hospital administrators and the construction of the old building, some hospital annual reports, and pamphlets about mental health in the 1960s. Some documents from the capsule will be going on display at the Neville Public Museum soon. [NBC26]
Michigan mystery capsule will finally get public unveiling
The contents of a cornerstone time capsule from 1959 that was discovered last summer in Parma, Michigan will finally be revealed to the public on Monday. There's no word on what might be inside, but the ceremony is open to the public. Get to the Western Community Arts Center by 6:30pm if you want to be among the first to see what the good people of 1959 tucked away for those of us living here in the future. [MLive]
Images: Pocari Sweat via the official website; Rover rendering via Astrobotic Technology